8/6/2008 - Remembering Ryan Olsen
The first time I interviewed Ryan Olsen was probably during the 2002-2003 swim season. I can’t remember the specific meet, but if I recall correctly, it was a state tournament dual meet at Sussex Tech.
Vernon’s mighty boys swim team had just sailed past some unsuspecting lower seeded team and Olsen, then a junior, was his usual dominant self as he won the sprint freestyles, and along with senior Mike Cordes, formed the most potent one-two-punch in Sussex County Interscholastic League swimming.
As I approached legendary Vernon swim coach Bob Trenz, the always friendly and classy Trenz asked who I wanted to talk to for my article for the local paper. When I said a couple names and then Olsen’s, he just smiled, and gave me a little warning, but with no malice toward Olsen.
“Dan, “ he said, “Hopefully he will give you some answers you can use for the story. He is a bit of a free spirit.”
And that he was.
Unfortunately, that spirit has been taken away from us much, much too early as the former standout swimmer was killed in a car crash last weekend at the tender age of 22. Olsen was the greatest swimmer to ever come out of Vernon, and arguably the best to come out of Sussex County, along with the outstanding Michael Gross of Sparta.
I had the chance to interview Olsen several times during his outstanding high school career and always found him to be funny and warm-hearted and completely devoid of ego. Here is a kid who could beat almost everyone he went against in the pool without batting an eye, and yet, he was completely unaffected about his talent and the hype that surrounded it.
It was that charm that won over all of his teammates, foes and coaches. When he won the school’s first Meet of Champions crown in 2003 after he took home the gold in the 50 free, I remember Trenz telling me before they went down to South Jersey for the meet that Olsen had the mindset and the talent to do it.
One thing about Olsen, Trenz said, was that once he hit the water, nothing was going to stop him. For as light-hearted and goofy he may have been out of the pool, he was that intense once that gun sounded until the time he tapped the wall to record another victory.
Olsen proved he was no one-race wonder next year, and not only defended his 50 free title with a sizzling 21.30, he added the 100 free to his resume with a winning time of 46.40 to achieve All-American status in each event, quite an achievement.
To watch Olsen swim was a pleasure. He possessed a masterful mixture of power, speed and grace. His long, lean swimmer’s body cut the water like a torpedo, but despite his size and massive wingspan, he barely made a ripple in the water as he tore through the pool like a shark on a piece of chum.
And once the race was over, he was all smiles, and back to being the fun-loving Ryan, who made his teammates laugh so hard that they would cry.
Despite being a jokester, he was very serous about swimming, coming from a swim family out of Lake Wallkill in Vernon. He swam for the Aqua Gems in Warwick, N.Y. for years, a team that his father, Ron, currently coaches.
I even remember typing in his name before he hit high school when we would run summer swimming results in the paper. I remember thinking back then, wait until this kid hits high school, and he didn’t disappoint.
Olsen and his merry men of the Vernon swim team were a nice bunch of kids who made up the last great team of the “Trenz Dynasty” at Vernon Township High School. The names come back to me like it was yesterday. Olsen, and before him, Mike Cordes, who went onto UMass, Kyle Abner, Mike Buchney, Tim Brannigan, Kevin Carney, Danny Beirne, and youngsters, Joe Sweeney, Matt Cordes and Brandon Kurht.
Olsen’s senior year was Trenz’s final farewell before he retired and what a sendoff the Vikings gave Trenz s they went 12-1 and won their first sectional title since 1988. The Vikings crushed Livingston 118-52 in the final before bowing to state-power Cherry Hill East in the Public A semifinals 93-77 at The College of New Jersey.
Trenz capped his career with an amazing 200-34 (.855) mark with a SCIL record of 121-2 with 16 SCIL titles in 18 years at the helm. He guided the Vikings to 10 straight SCIL championships before hanging up his whistle.
But for all the good memories, this is still a brutal week for not only the swim community in Vernon, but throughout the county and Orange County in New York. One thing I learned over the years of covering swimming is that the people involved in the sport are a tightnit group.
Swimming may not get the same fanfare and coverage as other sports like football, basketball, wrestling etc., but the passion the fans, coaches and swimmers have for the sport is unparalleled. The swim community has always come together during times of crisis and has shown great resolve.
Olsen’s untimely passing brought back the sad memories of the tragic death of former Vernon star Caleb Bohman in January 2002. Bohman was a freshman on The College of New Jersey’s swim team and unthinkably died during practice due to a heart ailment.
I remember how Trenz and the rest of the Vernon swim community rose together and helped the Bohman family in its time of need. And now just a short six years later, the Vikings will be lying to rest one of their own once again. It is just mind-boggling.
The death of a young person is always a tragedy, but what Ryan Olsen did in the pool, and more importantly, the positive effect he had on people outside of the pool, will last 100 lifetimes.
Rest in peace, Ryan, and my prayers and good wishes go out to the Olsen family and all those who knew and loved Ryan.
That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.
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